General Physics II – Spring 2016
PHY 162.001.002.003
Mercer University
Instructor
Email
Phone
Office
Office Hours
: Dr. Chamaree de Silva
: desilva_c@mercer.edu
: (478) 301-2770
: SEB 244
: Mon. and Fri. 10:00 – 12:00 and by appointment
Lecture (SEB 110)
Lab (SEB 214)
Textbook
Pre-requisite
Co-requisite
: MWF 9:00 - 9:50 in SEB 110
: Tuesday 9:25 – 12:05 (PHY 161.001)
Thursday 9:25 – 12:05 (PHY 161.002)
Tuesday 12:15 – 2:55 (PHY 161.003 -- Dr. John Lee -- lee_sc@mercer.edu)
: Fundamentals of Physics, 9th edition, Halliday, Resnick, and Walker
: PHY 161
: MAT 192
Supplemental Instructor : Sam Delozier-Ostrowski
Email
: samuel.drake.delozier-ostrowski@live.mercer.edu
SI hours
: TBA
You are highly encouraged to attend SI meetings. Sam will discuss the solutions to the posted prospective
quiz problems in addition to clarifications on content covered in class. Make it a habit to attend SI hours
at least once a week even if you don’t have any specific questions.
Course Description
PHY 162 is the second course in the two semester sequence of introductory, calculus-based physics
sequence. You must have successfully completed or be enrolled in MAT 192 or equivalent since we will
use algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus to learn physics concepts in this course. Whether you
are studying to become a physicist, an engineer, a physician, or a chemist, you will see the advantage of
understanding basic physics principles in your disciplines.
Course Objectives
In this course, you will learn principles behind Waves, Electric Charges, Electric Fields, Gauss' Law,
Electric Potentials, Capacitance, Current and Resistance, Circuits, and Magnetic Fields.
Calculator policy
Since we will be practicing problem solving almost every class period, bring a calculator to class every
day. Your phone is not a substitute for a calculator! During quizzes and exams, you are not allowed to use
phones or share calculators with your peers. You can use any type of calculator.
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Office hours
You are highly encouraged to attend office hours. If you cannot attend the posted hours, please send me
an email to schedule an appointment so we can go over any questions you may have regarding course
content or prospective quiz problems. Please do not wait until mid-semester to start seeking for help if
you are struggling, since in my experience, it is often too late. The second week of classes is a good week
as any to start attending office hours!
Quizzes:14%
During the semester, you will have 8 in-class, closed-book quizzes. I will provide necessary formulas. In
order to help you prepare for the quizzes, I will post a set of prospective problems, web applets, readings,
and videos on Blackboard few days prior to the scheduled quiz dates. You are encouraged to discuss
solutions to these problems with your classmates, SI, and me before the quiz.
I will drop your lowest quiz score. There are no make-up quizzes. If you miss a quiz by either not coming
to class or by arriving late, you will receive zero points for that quiz. If you have an official absence, the
missed quiz(zes) will receive the average of your other quizzes at the end of the semester. All quizzes are
weighted equally.
Midterms:50%
In this class, you will have 4 mid-term exams. Each exam will have materials that were primarily covered
in the weeks immediately preceding that exam. However, concepts will pervade throughout the course
and it is your responsibility to maintain an awareness of these more foundational concepts and be
prepared for any cumulative components on each exam. Makeup exams will be given on an individual
basis and must be accompanied by an excused absence. You must notify me before the exam begins
(unless you are physically incapacitated and cannot contact me prior to the exam), or you will not be
permitted to take a makeup exam. If you do take a makeup exam, I hold the option to set the date and the
decision to give you a more difficult exam. If you do not take an exam (or its makeup), you will receive a
zero for that exam. All exams are closed-book, and I will provide a formula sheet. All exams are weighted
equally.
Final Exam:23%
Your final exam will be a comprehensive, closed-book exam. As always, I will provide a formula sheet.
Please note the date of the final exam. Make your travel plans at the end of the semester accordingly,
since vacations and family gatherings are not acceptable excuses for a make-up final exam.
Laboratory:13%
We will hold ten lab sessions over the semester for a total of 8 lab reports, each worth 1.5%. The ninth
report will be a take-home case study worth 1%. Since the lab setups are changed every week to
accommodate different courses that occupy the same lab spaces, you will not be able to take make-up
labs. If you have an official absence or a detailed doctor’s note, the missed lab(s) will receive the average
score of other labs at the end of the semester. Otherwise, you will receive a zero for the lab you missed.
You cannot write a lab report for a lab session that you did not attend.
All members of your lab group (usually 3) will receive the same grade for the lab report. However, for
every 10 minutes you are late to the session, or leave early while the experiment is being performed by
your group members, you lose 2 points from your individual lab score. (e.g., if you arrive 13 minutes late
to lab and you earn 18/20 for the report as a group; your individual score will be 14/20 while your group
members earn 18/20).
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Each lab report (other than the case study) is worth 15 points (1.5%). Points are assigned as follows.
 Introduction and theory (3 points)
 Methods (2 points)
 Analysis of data including graphs and discussion (8 points)
 Conclusions (2 points)
Points will be deducted for omitting the following:
 Correct date of the experiment (1 point)
 Names and signatures of all members of the group (1 point)
 Title of the experiment (1 point)
 Not binding/stapling the report together (1 point)
 Leaving lab without tidying up your workspace and not turning off instruments (2 points)
 A work distribution breakdown of ‘who did what’ (1 point)
Notes:
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



All members of the group must contribute to writing the report.
At the end of each lab report, explain the work distribution among lab members.
Lab reports are due the following week during the lab time unless otherwise mentioned.
4 points will be deducted from lab reports turned in one business day late and 8 points for up to
2 business days late. After 2 business days, you will not receive any credit for the lab.
All data sheets must be attached to receive any credit.
Blackboard
I will post prospective quiz problems, videos, labs, answer keys to quizzes and exams, and all grades on
Blackboard. If the posted grades are different from your received grades on quizzes, labs, or exams, notify
me within 48 hours of posting.
Assessment tests
You are required to participate in testing for assessment purposes, which may lead to a course grade
bonus. At the beginning of the course, you will be asked to individually complete a conceptual test on
electricity and magnetism, the pre-test. The pre-test score itself will not form part of your grade. At the
end of the course, you will be asked to individually complete another conceptual test, the post-test. The
overall pre-test and post-test results will be used by the physics department in the assessment of our
program success. If you completes both tests, the post-test result will be used to grant you a bonus on
your course grade of up to 10 points: a score of 50% or better will yield a 2.5-point bonus, 60% or better
will yield 5-point bonus, 70% or better will yield 7.5-point bonus, and 80% or better will yield a 10 point
bonus.
Attendance and Classroom Behavior
Your attendance in class is not mandatory. However, your presence in class is essential for you to grasp
the material presented. Active participation in group work is strongly encouraged since in my experience,
working with your peers helps to comprehend the material better whether you take the lead in explaining
a solution or following the explanation of a classmate. My teaching philosophy does not follow a
complete lecture-based classroom. Research in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning suggests that
engaged and “flipped” classroom styles often facilitate your understanding of the course material better
than you listening to me lecture for 50 minutes every day. You learn physics by practicing, just like any
other activity. You will engage in problem solving during class individually, and in small groups.
Syllabus - PHY 162 – Spring 2016 – de Silva | Mercer University
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Please be respectful of the classroom environment and your peers. Out of courtesy for everyone, turn off
cell phones and pagers during class. If your small group completes the work before others, please refrain
from chatting with each other since it will be disruptive to other classmates.
If you have consistently poor behavior in class (e.g., excessive tardiness to class or lab, talking, sleeping,
playing with your phone, etc.), I will assume that you are not serious about learning the material and
about the final grade you receive.
Grades
The maximum possible score in PHY 162 is 1000 points (100%). There will be no extra credit. The points
are distributed as follows.
A
B+
B
C+
C
D
F
Grading Scale
89.5% -- 100%
86.5% -- 89.4%
79.5% -- 86.4%
76.5% -- 79.4%
69.5% -- 76.4%
59.5% -- 69.4%
0.00% -- 59.4%
Course Grade Distribution
4 Mid-Term Exams
500 points
50%
8 Quizzes (Drop 1)
140 points
14%
9 Lab Reports
130 points
13%
Final Exam
230 points
23%
-----------------1000 points 100%
Honor Code
You are bound by the Mercer honor code. The College’s academic misconduct policy will be followed.
All work, for which a grade is received, must be the original work of the student without aid or assistance
of another party, or any printed and or electronic data/information. Academic misconduct cases will be
referred to the honor council and the student will automatically receive a grade of incomplete (I) pending
a ruling by the honor council.
Documented Disability Statement
Students requiring accommodations for a disability should inform the instructor at the close of the first
class meeting or as soon as possible. The instructor will refer you to the Disability Support Services
Coordinator to document your disability, determine eligibility for accommodations under the
ADAAA/Section 504 and to request a Faculty Accommodation Form. Disability accommodations or
status will not be indicated on academic transcripts. In order to receive accommodations in a class,
students with sensory, learning, psychological, physical or medical disabilities must provide their
instructor with a Faculty Accommodation Form to sign. Students must return the signed form to the
Disability Services Coordinator. A new form must be requested each semester. Students with a history of
a disability perceived as having a disability or with a current disability who does not wish to use academic
accommodations are also strongly encouraged to register with the Disability Services Coordinator and
request a Faculty Accommodation Form each semester. For further information, please contact Carole
Burrowbridge, Disability Services Coordinator, at 301-2778 or visit the Disability Support Services
website.
http://www.mercer.edu/studentaffairs/disabilityservices
Syllabus - PHY 162 – Spring 2016 – de Silva | Mercer University
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Monday
Week 1
Jan 11 - 17
Week 2
Jan 18 - 24
Week 3
Jan 25 - 31
Week 4
Feb 01 - 07
Week 4
Feb 08 - 14
Week 5
Feb 15 - 21
Week 6
Feb 22 - 28
Week 7
Feb 29 – Mar 06
Week 8
Mar 07 - 13
Week 9
Mar 14 - 20
Week 10
Mar 21 - 27
Week 11
Mar 28 – Apr 03
Week 12
Apr 04 - 10
Week 13
Apr 11 - 17
Week 14
Apr 18 - 24
Week 15
Apr 25 – May 01
Week 16
May 02 - 08
Jan 11
First day of
class
18
MLK Jr.
Holiday
25
Tuesday
Thursday
16
21
Lab #1a
22
Chapter 16
23
27
Quiz #2
28
Lab #1b
29
Chapter 17
30
03
Exam #1
04
05
Chapter 21
06
09
Lab #2
10
Quiz #3
11
Lab #2
12
13
15
Chapter 22
16
Lab #3
17
Quiz #4
18
Lab #3
19
22
Chapter 23
23
Lab #4
Chapter 33
Mar 01
Case Study
24
Quiz #5
25
Lab #4
Chapter 33
03
Case Study
26
Chapter 24
27
04
Exam #2
05
07
Spring Break
08
Spring Break
09
Spring Break
10
Spring Break
11
Spring Break
12
14
Chapter 25
15
Lab #5
16
17
Lab #5
18
Chapter 26
19
21
22
Lab #6
23
Quiz #6
Chapter 27
30
Exam #3
24
Lab #6
Withdraw
31
25
Good Friday
26
Apr 01
02
08
29
28
13
Chapter 15
14
19
Lab #1a
20
Quiz #1
26
Lab #1b
02
Saturday/
Sunday
Friday
15
Chapter 15
Feb 01
12
Wednesday
29
02
17
24
31
07
14
20
21
28
06
13
20
27
03
04
Chapter 28
05
Lab #7
06
Quiz #7
07
Lab #7
08
BEAR Day
09
11
Chapter 29
12
Lab #8a
13
Quiz #8
14
Lab #8a
15
16
18
19
Lab #8b
20
21
Lab #8b
2
Exam #4
23
25
Review
26
27
28
30
02
FINAL
9 - 12
03
29
Last day of
classes
06
04
05
10
17
24
May 01
07
08
Syllabus - PHY 162 – Spring 2016 – de Silva | Mercer University
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